Vocations are increasing again in England and Wales for both religious orders and the diocesan priesthood

This report on vocations comes from CVComment, and brings together statistics recently released by the National Office for Vocation. I wouldn’t yet call it a vocations boom, but it is a definite and hugely encouraging upturn, as this graph about recent diocesan ordination figures shows.

Here is the full report:

New figures for 2012 show numbers of men and women entering religious orders have risen for the third year running, while ordinations to the priesthood have reached a ten-year high. There were 29 people entering religious life in 2010, rising to 36 in 2011 and 53 in 2012. Meanwhile, 20 men were ordained to the diocesan priesthood in 2011 and 31 in 2012, with 41 diocesan ordinations projected for 2013.

The ordination figures do not include religious men ordained to the priesthood, nor ordinations to the Ordinariate, of which there were 21 last year.

As these two tables show, current diocesan ordination figures (excluding the Ordinariate and the religious orders) are lower than the 1980s-90s, which were inflated by a sudden influx of former Anglican priests as well as the so-called ‘JPII bounce’ following the Pope’s 1982 visit…

Full breakdown of religious order statistics here, seminary entrances here, and ordinations here, supplied by the National Office for Vocation.

It’s the religious order figures that strike me most: last year 53 men and women joined religious communities in England and Wales, the largest number in sixteen years.

[Note: the pre-1982 figures are being disputed/clarified! But it is the upturn in recent years that interests me most…]

And I did want to drop a note and say how much I enjoy your blog. I’m an American who moved to France nearly 20 years ago and I enjoy reading your thoughts about what is happening in the Church in the wider world outside of France. And you write in English which is always a treat for me. ;-)

Thanks for the note Victoria. What a beautiful parish church you have! We were in France last week on the seminary retreat – 6 days of silence in Ars at the new seminary there; and lots of cheese and a modest amount of wine to make up for the lack of conversation…

Whilst vocations are on the up, which is great, and whilst ‘women entering religious orders have risen for the third year running’ which is great, I understand that some convents are closing down for good. And my concern is that as the vocational population ages, ultimately they are not being replaced in the same number, thus a slow decline in numbers.

Surely it is imperative that in the year of faith we recognise that the diocese needs to take under its wing the contemplative/active formal vocation of faithful women, in service to the parish, the wider community and the world-wide Church. It is vital outreach that was at the core of Christ’s message.

Mary Magdalene having seven demons cast out of her was not about being an effusive sinner. It was about her being perfected in God (if someone has seven demons cast out they are graced with seven virtues) The 4 cardinal ones, and faith, hope and Love.

Women apostle or disciples are needed to inspire and shepherd other women/girls and then vocations will rise again for sure. They bring a different ministry as to that of priests and a spirituality and prayer-life that filters into and beyond the community. Priests inspire other priests. It is time for vocational women to be able to inspire other vocational women in the parish in a formal ministry to prayerlife, worship and compassion.

The NOV figures Pre 1982 are extremely suspect and they have now withdrawn them. They originally claimed an average of six ordinations per year in the 1930s but the figures in the Catholic Directory actually reveal an average of 159 seculars and over 70 regulars.

The current up turn, though very welcome, is very slight and the statistics don’t really bear the weight being put upon them.

About this blog

Looking across the landscape of contemporary culture - at the arts, science, religion, politics, philosophy; sorting through the jumble; seeing what stands out, what unsettles, what intrigues, what connects, what sheds light. Father Stephen Wang is a Catholic priest in the Diocese of Westminster, London. He is currently Senior University Chaplain, based at Newman House Catholic Chaplaincy. [Banner photo with kind permission of Matthew Powell]

Email Subscription

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Images Policy

As far as I know none of the image use in this blog is against copyright law. Images copied here are either (i) my own or (ii) out of copyright or (iii) used under a Creative Commons License [CCL], which means (roughly, usually) that the photographer (or copyright owner) has agreed the unedited image can be used non-commercially with proper attribution. If I mark an image as CCL it means that I have used the image under a CCL; it does not mean that I am now licensing this image with a CCL.